Will Soto and his fiancée were in the hospital celebrating the birth of their son when a news item on the television caught their attention. Turned out that Soto’s car, a 2003 Saturn Ion, was one of the more than 1 million vehicles recalled by General Motors for a faulty ignition switch.

The defect has been linked to 12 known deaths, and GM reportedly had knowledge of the problem for more than a decade before disclosing it.

He and his fiancée ultimately decided they didn’t feel safe putting the baby in their car. It’s been parked in their garage since the family got home from the hospital, and they’re sharing her Toyota to get around town.

Soto says he’s been so absorbed with the new baby that he hasn’t had time to figure out what to do about the car. While he’ll certainly take it to the dealership to get it fixed, he also plans on selling it and buying a new vehicle as soon as possible. “I just don’t even know if it’s going to be safe after it’s fixed.”

Soto’s not the only one worried about his GM vehicle. The ignition switch defect affects more than 1.6 million cars manufactured between 2003-2007 (although we don’t know how many of these cars are still on the road). (Separately, the company has also issued recalls for another 1.5 million vehicles unrelated to the ignition switch.)

GM CEO Mary Barra has apologized for the way the automaker has handled the recall and promised to change its processes for handling such decisions. On Tuesday, Barra named Jeff Boyer to the newly created position of vehicle safety chief.

Several lawsuits have been filed in connection with the recall, and investigations are being conducted by the Justice Department, two congressional committees, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The affected cars include some 2003-2007 Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Saturns. GM has set up a dedicated website with information about the recalls, and customer service phone numbers dedicated to answering consumer questions. In cars with the defective part, the key can move from the “run” position to the “accessory” position, shutting off the car’s electrical power to components like the front airbags and power steering.

Owners of recalled cars will receive a letter in the mail notifying them when the replacement parts will be available at their local dealer. Parts will begin arriving at dealers in April, but given the scope of the recall, it could take through the summer and early fall for the company to build and ship enough parts to fix every affected car, says GM spokesman Jim Cain. “At least in the early days it’s going to take some time, and we hope people can be as patient with us as possible.”

In the meantime, the company is advising drivers of affected cars to keep only the key in the ignition, and remove any key chains, additional keys or key fobs attached to it. “That will make the vehicle safe to drive and address the concern,” Cain says. “It seems to have been influenced by weight on the key.”

However, not everyone agrees that such steps will make the cars safe to drive.“There really is only one piece of moral advice that GM should be giving anyone, and that’s ‘Do not drive these cars,’” says Robert Hilliard, an attorney with the Texas firm Hilliard Munoz Gonzalez, who has filed a class-action suit against GM, and represents the family of victims killed in a Wisconsin crash involving a 2005 Cobalt allegedly due to a faulty ignition switch. “GM cannot guarantee that you won’t be driving the car and drift into head-on traffic because you no longer have control of the vehicle.”

GM has publicly promised that it will provide loaner cars to owners of recalled vehicles until their cars have been repaired. However, numerous posts by consumers on GM’s Facebook page report that some local dealers are not honoring the deal, and Hilliard says many of his clients have described the same thing. Cain says that “most” GM dealers are participating in the loaner program, and that car owners who run into problems should call the customer care line for additional assistance.

Penny Samples Brooks, 52, of Kingsport, Tenn., says that she has experienced the problem firsthand when her engine shut down while she was driving on the highway about six weeks ago. “It was the scariest thing ever, the steering became almost impossible,” she says. “I was able to make it over to the emergency lane, and by the grace of God, I’m still alive.”

After her husband had a similar experience, Samples Brooks went online and found many people reporting similar problems with their GM vehicles. Then she heard about the recall. “It petrified me,” she says.

Samples Brooks, who says she does not drive with any additional keys on her key chain, was able to secure a loaner car from her local dealer after several conversations with a GM customer care representative.

Despite that, Samples Brooks says the entire experience has left her frustrated and worried that the car has lost any residual value that it had before this recall. (The car is worth just over $4,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.)

“The sad part is we are stuck with these cars because nobody else wants them,” she says. “It’s just not right.”

Pier 1 Imports takes up to 90% off its selection of clearance items. (Prices are as marked.) Shipping starts at $5, but orders of $49 or more qualify for free shipping via coupon code "FREESHIP49". (In-store pickup my also be available for a number of items.)

Pier 1 Imports takes up to 90% off its selection of clearance items. (Prices are as marked.) Shipping starts at ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 2 days ago

Macy's takes up to 70% off a selection of men's and women's clearance shoes. (Eligible items are marked.) Even better, cut an extra 30% off via coupon code "VIP". Pad your order with a beauty item (they start at $3) to bag free shipping; otherwise, shipping adds $10.95 or free on orders of $99 or more. Deal ends March 25. A couple of best bets, with prices after discount:

The North Face takes up to 40% off a selection of men's, women's, and kid's apparel. (Prices are as marked.) ... Read
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Updated: February 19, 2018

Crocs takes an extra 50% off its men's, women's, and kids' clearance styles during its Semi-Annual Clearance Event. (The discount applies in cart.) Shipping adds $4.99, or get free shipping on orders of $24.99 or more. That's tied with our September mention as the best no-minimum extra discount we've seen from Crocs in the past year. Deal ends March 20. A couple of best bets, with prices after discount:

Crocs takes an extra 50% off its men's, women's, and kids' clearance styles during its Semi-Annual Clearance Event. (The discount ... Read
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Updated: 3 days 15 hr ago

Dick's Sporting Goods takes up to 75% off a selection of clearance apparel, shoes, camping gear, sports items, and more. Shipping adds $5.99, although orders of $49 or more receive free shipping. (Large items may incur additional fees, as free shipping only covers up to $15 off the shipping cost. In-store pickup is also available for select items.) A couple of best bets:

Best Buy retail locations take an extra 50% off open-box luxury and built-in appliances via this printable coupon. Meanwhile, other ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 3 days ago

adidas via eBay cuts an extra 25% off select men's, women's, and kids' shoes and apparel. (Discount applies in cart.) Plus, all orders receive free shipping. A couple of best bets, with prices after the in-cart discount:

Hanes cuts up to 70% off its clearance items. Plus, all orders receive free shipping via coupon code "SHIPFREE". (Shipping normally adds $7.99 for all orders under $60.) Sizes and stock are limited for some items.

Columbia offers its Columbia Men's Powder Lite Hooded Jacket in several colors (Black pictured) for $59.99. Coupon code "COLMARCH60" cuts it to $47.99. Plus, Greater Rewards members receive free shipping. (Not a member? It's free to sign up.) That's the lowest price we could find in any color by $50. It's available in most sizes from S M to XXL. Deal ends March 27.

SanDisk Outlet Store takes up to 75% off a selection of USB flash drives, memory cards, headphones, and more. Plus, get an extra 10% off via coupon code "10OffOutletFS". Even better, the same code nets free shipping. Some exclusions apply. A couple of best bets, with prices after coupon:

Steep & Cheap takes up to 65% off a selection of Patagonia men's and women's clothing, accessories, and gear. (Prices ... Read
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Updated: 13 hr 24 min ago

For AMC Stubs Premiere members only, and with availability limited by ZIP code, Gofobo offers two tickets to an advanced screening of Ready Player One at select AMC Theatres nationwide for free. The viewing is scheduled for March 21 at 7 pm local time; tickets may sell out quickly.

Note: Although you can reserve your tickets without an AMC Stubs Premiere membership, you must show your membership card at your theater to redeem your ticket. The movie is scheduled for release on March 29.

For AMC Stubs Premiere members only, and with availability limited by ZIP code, Gofobo offers two tickets to an advanced ... Read
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Updated: 4 days 8 hr ago

At participating locations on April 2, Little Caesars will offer a freelunch combo with no purchase necessary. That's around a $5 savings, courtesy of 16-seed UMBC ousting the top-seeded Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. This offer is valid from 11:30 am to 1 pm local time. Other terms and conditions apply.

H&M takes up to 70% off a select items as part of its Big Spring Sale. (Prices are as marked.) Shipping adds $5.99, but orders of $40 or more receive free shipping via coupon code "0040". Kids' items start at $1.99, men's shirts at $3.99 $5.99, and women's dresses at $3.99.

H&M takes up to 70% off a select items as part of its Big Spring Sale. (Prices are as marked.) ... Read
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Updated: 3 days 6 hr ago

adidas via eBay offers its adidas Men's Lite Racer Shoes in Grey/White for $39.99. In-cart, it drops to $29.99. With free shipping, that's the lowest price we could find by $20. They're available in sizes 8 to 13.

Reebok via eBay takes up to 75% off shoes and apparel as part of its Friends & Family Sale. (Prices are as marked.) Plus, all orders bag free shipping. Sizes and stock may be limited. A couple of best bets:

Reebok via eBay takes up to 75% off shoes and apparel as part of its Friends & Family Sale. (Prices ... Read
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Updated: 3 days 6 hr ago

IKEA has dropped its shipping charges, with large item delivery starting now at a staggering low of $29! Wait, what? Yes, you heard correctly. With a previous starting price of $99 (and current maximum price of $59) for large items, that yields a $70 savings in many cases. Plus, the shipping rate for small items has been reduced from a starting price of $10 to a flat rate of $9. Although we briefly saw free shipping on orders of $250 or more in October, it still yields some of the greatest widespread savings we've ever seen from IKEA.

IKEA has dropped its shipping charges, with large item delivery starting now at a staggering low of $29! Wait, what? ... Read
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Updated: February 14, 2018

Udemy continues to offer a selection of online courses for free. Each course includes hours of content, and most are by far the best deals we could find for such classes. Here are a few interesting ones:

Udemy continues to offer a selection of online courses for free. Each course includes hours of content, and most are ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 17 hr ago

Lowe's takes up to 75% offclearance items, with prices starting from 74 cents. (Most prices are as marked, but some items receive discounts in cart.) Plus, MyLowe's members bag free shipping on most orders. (Not a member? It's free to join. Larger items may incur oversized shipping fees.) A couple of best bets:

This summer, NASA will launch the Parker Solar Probe. Sign up here for free to put your name in a memory card that will fly aboard the craft. A meaningless gesture, but no less cool for that (so-to-speak).

The probe is designed to get closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history and collect new data on solar activity and its effects on Earth; it will orbit the sun at around 450,000 miles per hour (which would take you from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in one second). The launch window for the probe is between July 31 and August 19, and it should make its first close approach in December 2024. The deadline for submitting your name is April 27.

This summer, NASA will launch the Parker Solar Probe. Sign up here for free to put your name in a ... Read
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Updated: 2 days 7 hr ago

Shively Sporting Goods via eBay offers the adidas Men's Climalite Game Time Polo Shirt in White for $9.99 with free shipping. That's $3 under our September mention and is the lowest price we could find by $17. It's available in size S only.